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The present and future of sustainability disclosure in equity investment funds’ pre-contractual documents: Mapping ESG discourse through STM

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  • Cruciani, Caterina
  • Santagiustina, Carlo R.M.A.

Abstract

To show how pre-contractual documents are currently employed to disclose sustainability and ESG-related information, we map and examine the contents of 945 Key Investor Information Documents (KIIDs) from ten major asset managers, including sustainable and non-sustainable funds. Through a Structural Topic Modelling approach, we infer sustainability-related topics and compare their contents and prevalence in different sections of these documents. Sustainability is a cross-cutting and multifaceted issue, discussed coherently with the SFDR fund classification across multiple sections of the KIID, making the option to convey sustainable information in a single section complex to implement.

Suggested Citation

  • Cruciani, Caterina & Santagiustina, Carlo R.M.A., 2023. "The present and future of sustainability disclosure in equity investment funds’ pre-contractual documents: Mapping ESG discourse through STM," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PA).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:58:y:2023:i:pa:s1544612323004051
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2023.104033
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    KIID; KID; ESG; Sustainability; SFDR; Structural topic modelling;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G2 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services
    • G4 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance
    • C89 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Other
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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